


Dragon Scales

by ghostbursupremacyhours



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angry Wilbur Soot, Canonical Character Death, Cara | CaptainPuffy is Clay | Dream's Parent, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Feral TommyInnit (Video Blogging RFP), Gen, George Ant Bad and Sap are all Knights, King Wilbur Soot, Knight Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), M/M, Manhunt AU, Niki and Cara being a canon couple is so SOFT, Niki | Nihachu is Clay | Dream's Parent, Slow Burn, Soft Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Soft Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Thief Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot and Technoblade and TommyInnit are Siblings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-18 15:54:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29492397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostbursupremacyhours/pseuds/ghostbursupremacyhours
Summary: Wilbur's hands shake as he slams the chest's lid down, before whipping on his heel to face the knights who weresupposedto be guarding the treasury."Since you four idiots don't think your job is that important..." Wilbur whispers, voice quivering with rage, and Tubbo and Tommy exchange worried looks behind him, "I think I'll give you a new one."
Relationships: Antfrost & GeorgeNotFound & Darryl Noveschosch & Sapnap, Cara | CaptainPuffy/Niki | Nihachu, Clay | Dream/Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Floris | Fundy & Wilbur Soot, Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson
Comments: 22
Kudos: 135





	1. Chapter 1

Dream pushes the back door to the flower shop open as quietly as he possibly can, wrapping his hand around the keys to keep them from jingling and waking his mothers. Unfortunately for him, it doesn't seem to have mattered, because he sees fire flickering around the corner and knows that one of them is awake. He briefly considers slipping back out the door, but he knows how upset they get when he doesn't come home for the night. So he rounds the corner to see Puffy sitting in her favorite chair by the fire, flipping idly through a book as Patches sits curled on her lap, purring contentedly.

"Hi, Mama," Dream murmurs, and Puffy looks up, giving him an exasperated look.

"Your home awfully late," she whispers, being quiet as to not wake her wife sleeping in the other room.

"I got... busy," Dream lies, shifting his satchel on his shoulder.

Puffy sighs and sets her book down. "Dream, this needs to stop. We can get by now, we don't need you stealing for us." Seeing Dream's face cloud with guilt, she softly shakes her head. "And stealing for the fun of it isn't.... just."

"But I-"

"Oh lay off him, Puff," Niki says from the doorway, crossing her arms and grinning out at her family. Dream's shoulders relax and he gives her a soft smile.

"Thanks, Mom." Dream says, the smile morphing into a grin.

"It's not like he's stealing from Wilbur! God knows what Soot would do to him if he was!" Niki jokes, and as she laughs and Puffy rolls her eyes, and through their banter, they miss the fact that Dream pales considerably.

"Ha-ha, right! No one would be _that_ stupid! Alright, going to bed, goodnight!"

Before they can stop him, Dream steps into his room and slams the door shut before dropping his satchel on the bed and digging through till he pulls out the items he's looking for. Three large pearls of deep, translucent green. A small, golden statue with green eyes that he swears are following him. Two apples of gold that almost seem to shine and shimmer with an odd purple sheen when he turns them in the candlelight. And a skull, pitch black and grinning.

The hardest items to get to in King Wilbur Soot's treasury. But why?

* * *

_**5 Hours Earlier...** _

Dream had been planning this heist for weeks. He'd even gotten a temporary job in the castle, telling the steward Schlatt that he just needed a basic job for a bit, for some extra money, _pretty please, Schlatt?_

Sclatt had relented and told him that they could use an extra hand in the kitchen. And so when Dream wasn't rolling out dough or cutting ungodly amounts of potatoes (how much potatoes can one piglin hybrid _eat_?) he was wandering the castle, memorizing the schedules of the guards, learning the names of the servants who gossiped, and through them the names of the servants who hated Wilbur Soot with every fiber of their being. He learned the schedules of those servants and through them the schedules of those closest to the king, and the rest of the royal family.

So when he leaves his job (and a polite thank-you note on Schlatt's desk) a few weeks after he started it, he knows the castle and its inhabitants in and out.

Well... almost.

The treasury was guarded every second of the day, and the one time he tried to get by, claiming he had lost his way, the intimidating guard had told him that if he saw him again, he'd be thrown in jail. The next time Dream peaked in, the guard had been doubled.

And then there was the matter of King Soot. He had known him when he was still Prince before Phil abdicated, but he had changed considerably in that time. In fact, almost no one knew much about him, and those that did only gave Dream half-answers.

Techno had told him that he was quiet and smart and nothing else. Tommy had talked for twenty minutes, but when Dream sorted through the information the teen had given him, he found that most of it was just blather and overall useless. Tubbo had hesitated and said that he was a good big brother, then made an excuse and slipped away. Dream didn't bother approaching Fundy, their relationship still strained after their very brief summer romance fell apart. The only person Dream couldn't ask was Phil, since he was difficult to track down on the best of days and Dream's time was already limited.

If Dream had his way, he'd have had both Wilbur and the treasury completely mapped, but he would have to go in with the knowledge he already had.

So, as the sun set over the kingdom of L'manburg, Dream told his mothers he was heading out and made his way into the city he knew like the back of his hand. It's easy to slip through the gate unnoticed, the guards on shift exhausted from being there all day. Luckily for them, shift change is about to occur. This is even luckier for Dream as he slips silently, cat-like through the castle until he reaches the stairs to the treasury, and slips his lockpicking kit out. The door clicks softly open under his delicate touch, and he creeps down the stone stairs on padded feet, careful to shut and relock the door behind him; there's a window leading out in the hall leading to the treasury, but it's too close to the guard for him to get in through, but perfect for a swift getaway.

He adjusts his mask briefly, ensuring that it covers his entire face, and then steps into the hall, back pressed against the wall, and peers around the corner to find-

-the treasury _completely_ _unguarded._ Instead, he hears laughter from a nearby room, and just barely peeks around the door to see four knights sitting at a table with cards, joking around.

"C'mon Bad, admit that you lost!" One of them goads, short brown hair falling into brown eyes.

"George is right. Fork over the coin!" Another says, and Dream turns his eyes to him and- _oh wow._

Medium length raven hair that is barely held back by a cloth headband, and eyes that shimmer on the border of red and amber. Tanned skin, and full lips that pullback in a grin that reveals white teeth and armor that fits him _just right_. He's so focused on the handsome man that he almost misses when a third guard, a cat hybrid, says his name.

"Sapnap, George, leave it alone. Let's just call it a tie?" he begs, ears twitching as he frowns, drumming clawed fingers on the table.

The final guard, a demonic-looking man who must be Bad, huffs. "Fine, fine. Here's your coin; even though I'd rather agree with Antfrost."

George and Sapnap cheer as the gold clinks on the table and Dream forces himself away. They won't be distracted by their game forever, and he needs to take advantage of this _now_. So, heart pounding, Dream swiftly picks the treasury lock and slides inside. And he has to admit, he's impressed.

Chests and display cases and armor stands line the walls, all silently inviting a thief like him to take them. He opens a nearby chest to reveal piles of silver and gold and jewels and stifles a gasp. He knew the kingdom had been doing well, but not this well. He forces himself to close the chest and focus on his real target; the iron cage in the back of the room with two display cases and a single, tightly locked chest.

The cage is easy to unlock, but there's no obvious way to open the display cases and Dream breaks two picks on the chest. It quickly becomes clear that to get to the display cases and their contents of the statuette and skull, he'll have to break the glass. So he sighs, pulls out his dagger, and slams the hilt into the glass. It shatters loudly, and the voices in the other room come to a halt. Dream nabs the two items and turns to the chest, heart hammering. He needs to get this thing open _now_. So he shoves his dagger in the lock and forces it. The lock breaks and he shoves it open, pulling out the contents without a spare thought, then makes sure his mask is on tight and springs for the door and--

-runs straight into the handsome knight. They both stumble and fall, and everyone stands or lies in shocked silence as Dream braces himself with his hands, eyes locked with the knight who stares open-mouthed up at the thief straddling him before Dream comes to his senses and hurls himself off of him and clambers onto the windowsill, throws open the shutters and leaps out onto the grass below as Sapnap shouts _"thief! Come quickly! We've got a burglar!"_

Dream takes off through the city, holding his bag close and trying to stave off the intruding thoughts of flame-colored eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

Tommy was the closest to the treasury, and thus the one to answer to Sapnap's cries for assistance. When he showed up, Tubbo hot on his heels, the thief was long gone, but one look inside the treasury told Tommy that they'd definitely been there. So up he went, forcing himself to knock on his older brother's door, anxiety mixing in the pit of his stomach and only growing at the way Wilbur's expression darkened as Tommy told him what he'd found.

Before Tommy can say anything to try and calm him down, Wilbur storms out of his quarters and to the treasury. Despite the fact that he's dressed in his sleeping robe and his feet are bare, his anger still makes him an intimidating force, and people move to get out of his way as quickly as possible. He storms down the stairs and through the still-open door to the treasury, where four of his knights are standing, looking anxious and angry. He says nothing to them, doesn't even spare them a glance as he does a quick visual check of the main room before focusing his attention on the cage. He steps in, glass crunching beneath his feet and leaving blood behind him.

"Wilbur?" Tubbo whispers, eyes wide with horror, but the king doesn't seem to hear him as he looks down into the empty chest.

Wilbur kneels down, and swiftly checks each corner of the chest before standing, shoulders shaking. Tubbo reaches up to rest a hand on his shoulder, but Tommy stops him and shakes his head. The knights approach slowly, not speaking as Wilbur stares down into the empty chest and blood drips from the soles of his feet. He says nothing at the clanking of armor behind him, hand clenched tight at his side. A minute or more passes before Wilbur finally breaks.

Wilbur's hands shake as he slams the chest's lid down, before whipping on his heel to face the knights who were _supposed_ to be guarding the treasury. "Since you four idiots don't think your job is that important..." Wilbur whispers, voice quivering with rage, and Tubbo and Tommy exchange worried looks behind him, "I think I'll give you a new one." All four knights begin speaking at once, desperate to explain themselves, but Wilbur simply raises a hand and looks at them with an expression that could freeze hell over. "As punishment for this, you four are going to hunt down the thief who did this and bring him back. Dead or alive, I don't care. But until you bring him back, you are hereby banished and exiled from L'manburg. Get out of my sight."

The knights scramble off without a word, though Bad does sniffle a bit. Wilbur's face softens for just a moment once their backs are turned, but his expression swiftly hardens.

Finally, Tubbo breaks the silence. "Wil, your feet..."

Wilbur glances down at his aching feet and sighs. "I've got some healing stuff in my quarters." He looks at his little brothers, eyes full of concern, and gives them a wavery smile. "C'mon, it's late and you two ought to be in bed."

"We aren't you son, Wil," Tommy mutters, and Wilbur simply smiles.

"Maybe not, but you're still my little brother." He ruffles Tommy's hair fondly before they make their way out, and tries not to wince with every step.

* * *

The four knights bicker all the way back to the barracks, trying to push the blame onto one another until finally, Bad has had enough.

"QUIT IT! It doesn't matter who did what now because we're _all_ banished. So we might as well gather our stuff and get going. Wilbur probably already sent someone out to put up posters of the theif, and if he's smart he'll get going before anyone can nab him and turn in the reward." Bad stops and looks at them, and though they all glare at him for a moment, Antfrost is the first to stand down, tail and ears drooping.

"Bad's right. We should ditch our armor too; best to travel light, and the thief will probably try to run before he fights." Ant points out, and though George and Sapnap are still glaring daggers at one another they back down in silent agreement.

They return to the barracks and remove their armor, placing it in the adjoined armory before settling for their weapons; George and Bad grab swords, Ant takes an ax, and Sapnap takes a bow. After that, they get provisions from the kitchen, pack extra clothes and any other necessary supplies into their saddlebags, and head for the stables. But when they get there, they're surprised to find Wilbur's older brother and the crown prince waiting for them.

It's Techno who speaks first saying, "Fundy's got something to tell you."

Fundy glares up at him, crossing his arms before turning back to the others, ginger hair falling into his eyes. "I... know the thief. _Knew_ the thief. I recognized the picture of the mask; his name is Dream. His mothers own a flower shop on the edge of the city. You'd better start there."

Techno grunts in agreement and adds, "Wilbur's given you till sunset to search the city before your banishment is official. Don't waste it."

Fundy turns and leaves with no further ceremony, but to their surprise, Technoblade extends his hand and shakes each of their's in turn. "Good luck. Don't die. And..." he pulls out a piece of paper, rolled up and wrapped with a simple leather cord, "if you need anything out there, or if something goes horribly wrong, here's a map to Dad's farm. He's a good guy. He'll help any way he can if he knows I sent you."

Sapnap takes the map from him, and they all give Techno their thanks before the pink-haired man heads back into the castle. Sapnap tucks the map into his saddlebag, which he hooks onto his horse's saddle, and after the others finish doing the same says, "boys, we've got some flower shopping to do!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's kinda dialogue-heavy, sorry!

Dream is awoken with a shake of his shoulder and a desperate whisper, though when he opens his eyes he feels as though he hasn't gotten more than a few minutes of sleep. A cursory glance out the window tells him that he might _not_ have gotten more than a few minutes of sleep, as it's still dark outside. He looks up, trying to see who awakened him, and realizes that Niki is standing over his bed, fear in her eyes and... packed saddlebag and cloak in hand?

He sits up and frowns at her. "Mom? What's going on?"

"You have to go..." she whispers, gently shoving the things at him. Dream takes them, haphazardly pulling on the cloak and frowning at her.

"Why? What's wrong?"

She purses her lips and glances out the window. "The king's men are after you. I just got word from an old friend at the castle, a nobleman-- Nevermind that. I don't know what you did but if there's one thing I know about Wilbur Soot, he's not going to stop until he gets what he wants. You need to leave."

Dream springs out of the room, Niki hot on his heels as they head for the door. Just as his hand hits the door he hesitates and says, "wouldn't it be easier to just... give the stuff back?"

Niki, to his surprise, hesitates. "There are some items you shouldn't have taken, yes..." she begins, biting her lip and turning away. "But there is one thing that he shouldn't have. And for that; no. Don't give it back." She suddenly lights up and shoves a map into his hands, "Find the place on this map. The man who lives there will take the stuff and keep it safe. He'll keep _you_ safe till Puf and I can find a way to bring you back. I'd trust this man with my life- In fact, I think I have put my life in his hands before."

Dream gives her a wavery smile. "That seemed to have gone well. Alright, I'll find him." He turns to walk the door then pauses, turning and throwing himself into his mother's arms. "Thank you..."

Just as he's about to leave a voice from a bit behind Niki says, "what no hugs for me?"

Dream laughs wetly and runs over, tossing his arms around Puffy. "I love you, Mama." He turns to grin a Niki, the tears threatening to fall in full force now. "Both of you."

"We love you, too, Dream," Niki whispers, squeezing his hand. "We'll bring you back home as soon as we can, I promise."

* * *

As the light fades into the afternoon, the four knights stand before the door to the threshold, with Sapnap standing in front of the door, and George a little behind him. For whatever reason, Sap doesn't want to knock. It feels oddly intrusive, coming to someone's house like this and demanding to see their son, accusations resting on the tip of his tongue. But, he has a job to do, and he would rather get it done quickly so he can go back to his cushy job in the castle. So, he raises a fist and knocks.

A few moments later, the door is opened by a short woman with soft white curls and a rainbow scarf. "Sorry, we're closed on Sundays for the Prime mass... Can I help you, gentlemen?"

Sapnap glances back at his friends, and Antfrost gestures for him to go on, so he forces himself to turn back to the woman. "I'm sorry to bother you on a religious day, ma'am, but I'm looking for you son. King Soot would like to have a word with him."

The woman's eyes widen, then melt into a frown and Sapnap thinks his heart sinks. "I'm so very sorry, good knight, but my son isn't here. He left early this morning to go hunt."

George takes a deep breath, clearly frustrated, then steps up next to Sapnap, trying to put on a smile. "Do you, by chance, know where his hunting grounds usually are?"

The woman shakes her head. "No, he isn't very consistent. Some days he's out in the plains, some days he goes into the forests, and some days he just fishes the rivers."

"But surely he tells you where he goes, to keep you from worrying..." George pushes, trying to be gentle, and Sapnap thinks he sees her hesitate.

"Well he's, ah, a grown man now. I think he likes having his freedom." the woman glances up at them, and Sapnap can see she's nervous. He notices George's face harden, and he knows he should let his friend push a little harder but something in him makes him put out an arm and quietly shake his head.

"We'll look for him ourselves, then. Sorry for bothering you, ma'am."

And with that they head out, back into the city. They make it further than Sapnap thought before George explodes at him.

"What were you fucking-"

"LANGUAGE!" Bad snaps behind him, but George ignores him, pressing forward.

"-thinking?! She knew something! She had to! And now the thief is probably miles ahead of us. We may never catch up!"

Antfrost, to their surprise, clears his throat and pulls a compass out of his bag. The others silently raise their eyebrows at him and he says, "not with this. If we can find something that belongs to the thief, we can use this compass to track his every move."

The others stare in shocked silence for a moment before grinning. Sapnap gently takes the compass from Ant, holding it up so the sunlight glints off of the glass surface. "Looks like, what did Fundy call him? Oh yeah, _Dream,_ doesn't have that much of a headstart after all."


	4. Chapter 4

The hard part, the knights soon realized, would be tracking down an item that belonged to Dream. They knew right away that they weren't going to get anything from the flower shop, and they only had a few hours left in the city to hunt something down before Wilbur would unceremoniously boot them out. So with the only place they could really find something not an option, they headed back to the castle, and down to the treasury where Dream had stolen from. It was there that, laying just below the window, Antfrost spotted a dagger, holding it up and grinning triumphantly.

"All we need now is to take it to an enchanter! They'll be able to use the dagger to connect the compass to Dream!"

George eyes the dagger, uncertain. "Are we even certain it's Dream's? What if it's a guard's, or even one of ours?"

Bad unconsciously checks his belt, before asking, "well, does everyone have their dagger with them, or know where it's at?" The others check their belts before nodding. Bad goes on saying, "there is one way we could check. He used his dagger to force the lock on the chest; if it's his, it'll match the damage done to the lock!"

The others muttered their agreement and headed into the treasury, though they didn't miss that one of the guards followed them in. Ant slipped the dagger into the damaged lock and... "Bingo!"

With their item found, they sprinted out of the castle and towards the nearest enchanting shop.

* * *

Standing on his balcony, Wilbur watched the knights spring across the courtyard and out of the gates, nearly bowling over some poor stable hand in the process. He sighs and leans onto the railing where Techno's already placed his weight, picking his teeth with a knife. His twin shoots him a cursory glance before resuming his task and saying, "They seem to be pretty intent on catching that thief."

Wilbur huffs softly, reaching up and adjusting his crown. "As they should be." All is silent for a minute, before Wilbur asks, "I know you like to wander the city. You have far more time for it than I do. What's the general attitude?"

Techno, to his surprise, hesitates. "Are you sure you want to know?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Techno sighs and lowers his knife, checking the tip in an effort to seem nonchalant, but Wilbur knows him well enough to see through the act. Finally, after what feels like an eternity of stressed silence, Techno says, "there's unrest. I mean, there's always been unrest, even when Dad was king, but some of the things people are saying..." Techno goes quiet again, staring out into the city, and Wilbur gently elbows him in an attempt to get him to talk. Techno shakes his head and finally chokes out, "they think you're becoming more of a dictator than a king, Will."

Wilbur says nothing for a moment, staring off into space, and Technoblade waits a long moment before saying, "that's not what concerns me. We've- that is, Tommy, Tubbo, and I- have noticed that your behavior has been... _off_. Like the other day in the treasury, when you were just letting your feet bleed and not saying anything. We're worried about what this position as king is doing to you Wilbur-"

Wilbur whips around turning to face Techno and bristling. "The only thing you lot needs to worry about is your own business. And you, specifically Technoblade, ought to be concerning yourself with your job as my military advisor. I'd suggest you focus on that, not whether I am fit to be king!" Wilbur spits the last word before turning on his heel and walking back inside the castle, as Techno watches his retreating back in silent despair, quietly thinking;

_I fucking hate what this has done to him..._

* * *

Dream didn't slow his pace until he reached the forest in the late afternoon, golden sunlight dripping between the leaves. He could feel his horse breathing heavily beneath him and felt sympathy well up in him, leaning down to stroke the horse's neck. He glanced up at the sun between the trees, shielding his eyes with a hand, and, mapping the position, decided to start prepping camp for the night. He gently guided his horse off the road and a little way into the woods before he found a clearing that was discretely hidden by brambles, but large enough for Dream's horse to graze and Dream himself to set up camp. He tied his horse to a nearby branch and began setting up a fire when he stopped.

Should he even start a fire?

The nights were getting cold as fall began to set in and summer came to an end, but he didn't have any raw food he needed to cook. It would be nice to melt the cheese he had onto the bread, get the edges of it crispy... But not a necessity. And the smoke or flames may alert the men that King Soot had sent after him. And when it came down to it... Dream sighed and kicked one of the rocks before turning away from the start of the fire, a little disheartened, but he knew he had to prioritize his safety over his comfort.

So he set up his bedroll, ensured his horse was tied tight and curled up under his cloak and a warm blanket, hoping he would be able to get at least some sleep before dawn awoke him.

And he managed to drift off into the night, right up until he was awoken by the sound of a branch breaking.

Dream shot up, a hand immediately flying to his dagger--

 _His dagger._ He had been so preoccupied with keeping the thievery hidden from his moms, and then his escape that it wasn't until now that he realized that the dagger was gone. He stifled a curse and grabbed his longsword instead. He wasn't as proficient with it, but he wasn't sure he could nock an arrow in time. He stood, sword crossed defensively in front of his chest when he heard shifting in the pushes. Slowly, slowly, he approached the rustling bushes. They continued to rustle and Dream felt his heart race, sword shaking in his grasp, and then...

... a fox jumped out of the bushes. Stared at him for a moment, then ran back out into the woods. Dream cursed in earnest then, kicking at a nearby rock and swinging his sword into a nearby tree.

And immediately after a sudden, _familiar_ shout echoed through the trees; "I heard him! This way!"

_Shit._


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter to fix the cliffhanger I left you guys on last time! Longer one coming soon, with all three stories/POVs again!

Dream immediately flies into action, tossing his things in his saddleback and satchel, sheathing his sword and snatching up his bow and quiver before tossing the saddlebag over the horse's back and his satchel over his own shoulder, untying him, climbing on and taking off into the forest, hunched over the horse's back before crashing out onto the main road again. He hears shouts and whinnies behind him but doesn't dare look back, even as an arrow flies over his shoulder, nicking his ear as it passes. He feels a few drops of blood land on his shoulder, but his hands are shaking so bad he isn't sure he could do anything to staunch the bleeding right now.

He can hear the rushing of blood in his skull and the pounding of his horse's hooves, and the knight's steeds behind him. He can hear the knights shouting to one another, urging each other on, and another arrow flies past him, this time missing him altogether. He pushes a little harder, rubbing the neck of his horse and whispering softly that he needs to go _just a bit faster... Just a bit more_ _..._ And his horse obeys, and Dream can hear cries of surprise and alarm behind him as he pulls ahead, and for a moment he's away. He's gone and left them all behind and he's going to be okay and-

-an arrow hits not him, but his horse, in the hind leg, and his horse balks and rears, and Dream is thrown off and onto the ground, as his horse takes off into the forest with all his supplies and the last of his hope. Dream can hear the shouts of glee not far behind, and a moment later he's surrounded by four knights on horseback, leering down at him. He forces himself to stand, trying to ignore the sudden and sharp pain in his ankle as he puts weight on it. He pulls out his sword, begging his hand to stop shaking as he looks up and glares into the eyes of the knight directly in front of him; Sapnap, if his memory serves him right. And he knows it does because Sapnap was the one who caught his eye in the beginning. And he holds it as steadily as he can now.

He doesn't miss the way Sapnap's eyes widen in surprise either before his face melts into a smirk.

"You're much better looking than I expected you to be, _Dream_." The way Sapnap says his name sounds like a mix between a curse and purr, and it makes Dream's stomach curl just as it makes his heart leap, and he hates himself for being attracted to this man.

Instead of letting those emotions get the better of him, Dream bares his teeth and adjusts his grip on the sword, glaring up at Sapnap. "How'd you find me?"

Sapnap grins and gestures to another knight, the cat hybrid, who pulls out a compass. And when Dream looks closely at it, he can see that the needle is pointing to _him..._

He tries to push back the rush of anxiety that gives him and glares up at the cat knight instead. "So you know how enchantments work. Big deal."

The knight grins, showing off sharpened teeth. "We know a lot more than that, Dream..."

Dream scoffs and turns on his heel. One of the other knights slides off his horse, prompting Sapnap to mutter, "careful, George," under his breath. George approaches Dream slowly, pulling out a length of rope.

"Come with us willingly, and maybe we'll convince King Wilbur to spare you," George threatens, and Dream sees his opportunity.

So, with a drawn-out sigh, he holds out his wrists. The knights still mounted seem surprised as he lets George approach, closer... closer...

...

Then ducks underneath his arms, throws himself onto the knight's horse, and takes off into the forest with a loud laugh.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A much longer chapter this time, as promised!

"George you stupid little bitch." Sapnap hisses, sliding off his horse and whipping around to face the brunet. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Sapnap, watch your language!" Bad hisses, but he does spare a pretty icy glare for George.

George mutters something under his breath, and Sapnap resists the urge to smack him upside the head and instead turns to look down the main road with a sigh. "Who knows how far ahead he's gotten now," Sap murmurs, sparing a glance for the moon high above.

Antfrost sighs and glances off to the side. "Maybe we should just make camp for the night. I doubt we'll catch up to him again anytime soon."

The others sighed and muttered their agreement, before following Antfrost into a nearby clearing, leading their horses behind them as George pouted, empty-handed. It became obvious that this had been the clearing that Dream had been setting camp up in before they found him, the firepit half-constructed, footsteps in the dirt, and a large gash in the bark of a nearby tree. Bad quickly took the lead, giving instructions out to each of the members; Antfrost to make sure the horses were tied, George to finish the firepit, and Sapnap to collect firewood. Too tired to argue with the knight over tasks, they all quickly got to it, Sapnap wandering a little ways into the trees to find big and dry enough branches to light. Thankfully, L'manberg had been through a dry spell recently, and so it was not difficult to find dry wood.

He collected what he hoped was enough for a decent-sized fire before heading back to help finish setting up camp. Soon the fire was started and Antfrost was cooking some smuggled bacon as George told an absolutely ridiculous story that was so full of profanity, Bad had to give up scolding him after a while. But Sapnap's thoughts weren't anywhere near the story or even the smell of food. No, his thoughts were on a handsome, clever, intelligent thief who was miles away by now.

He wasn't sure what he expected when they surrounded the thief, but it wasn't the outcome he got. He'd expected maybe a fight, said thief to wind up dead by one of their swords. He was not expecting the thief to fake surrender and steal George's horse. The thought of the thief out tricking them hadn't even crossed his mind. Though, thinking back, it should have. Dream had managed to get through a castle full of guards and steal the most heavily guarded items in the treasury of a castle owned by Wilbur Soot, who was not exactly known as the most lenient man in the kingdom. He'd then managed to escape not only the castle and treasury but the city itself.

Sapnap sighed, leaning back against the log behind him and tugging out the compass, staring at the needle pointed somewhere to the northwest. The question now was, where is Dream going?

* * *

Dream pushed the horse as hard as he dared, trying to get as much distance between himself and the knights as possible. His chest heaved with exertion, and he almost cried with relief as a small village and tavern came into view. He slowed to a trot, then to a walk before coming to the front of the tavern. Slipping off the horse's back, he leads it carefully into the stable, closing the gate behind it before stepping into the bright, warm, and lively building.

The townsfolk didn't spare Dream more than a glance as he approached the bar, tugging his mask on to hide his face. The bartender didn't see him approach, busy as she was with cleaning the glasses. He has to clear his throat to get her attention, and when he finally does, he sees her eyes go wide in surprise at his mask. She sets the glass down before leaning in and whispering, "you do realize that mask is printed on wanted posters across the kingdom, right?"

Dream sighs, then blinks in surprise. "I mean, yeah." He feels his body go cold at the realization that, by putting the mask on, he's now alerted every patron in the bar that he has a bounty on his head. Swallowing hard, he turns to back out, saying, "I'll just be... going..."

To his surprise, the barmaid laughs. "Oh don't worry about being turned in by us, sonny. Most of this town _hates_ King Soot with a burning passion. Let me get you a drink, and a room for the night, yeah?"

"I-Uhm-- yeah."

"... You do still have to pay, though," she says, and Dream forks over the coin before stammering on about the horse in the stable and the barmaid insists it will be taken care of. As Dream sits at the bar, she passes him a mug full of cider and he sips slowly, before asking her what the deal is with Wilbur.

The barmaid sighs, setting down a glass. "Don't get me wrong, I don't think Soot is necessarily a terrible person. But that doesn't make him any better of a ruler. You saw the town as you came in; it's a mess. We have issues with bandit raids and the dead rising from their graves. We've been begging for help, but the most we've ever seen is an occasional guard sent out to dispatch the zombies before returning to their cozy life in the capital. Soot's got tunnel vision; he has the recourses to spare for towns like ours, but what does he do? He hoards them like a dragon, breathing fire at anyone who dares to contradict him."

Dream purses his lips, remembering Wilbur's treasury and the chests full of gold. He would easily be able to help these people, and yet... "Why doesn't he do anything?"

The barmaid shrugs. "Don't ask me. Some here say it's greed, others say he's mounting a war, and the few apologists he has here claim it's paranoia from the revolution, which Wilbur and his brothers helped lead. None of that excuses him, in my eyes."

Dream hummed nonchalantly before finishing off his drink and heading to bed. He walked up the stairs and into his rented room before throwing himself on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, and trying to ignore the anger brewing in his gut at the injustice of it all. Wilbur had the resources to send four of his men to hunt him down, but not to help villages like this one? Especially given that it was only a day and night from the capital? His gaze fell upon his satchel and the lingering guilt he'd felt since he came home from his heist that night vanished, reinforced by Niki's parting words. He huffed and rolled over, glaring at the wall.

_What kind of king just abandons his people?_

* * *

Wilbur hummed softly as he ran his fingers through Fundy's hair, brushing down the length of it, careful to avoid the soft fox ears protruding from the top. Fundy doesn't say anything, merely stares at his hands, and listens to the familiar tone of his father's voice.

"It's getting long again," Wilbur says, in reference to Fundy's hair, which hangs in soft ginger waves just above his shoulders. "I can cut it while I'm here if you'd like?"

"That would be great, thanks," Fundy murmurs and Wilbur frowns as he sets the brush down and grabs a set of shears.

"Is everything alright, kiddo?"

Fundy winces at the gentle tone. "I'm not a kid anymore, father."

Wilbur sighs and begins cutting, the snipping of the shears as a backdrop to his melodic voice. "I know that Fundy, but you'll always be little to me. But you didn't answer my question; is everything alright? You've seemed a little... down, lately."

Fundy merely shrugs, and Wilbur pauses to make sure he doesn't cut crooked before resuming. All is silent for a long moment before Fundy says, "I'm worried about you."

"About me? Whatever for?"

"You've been... different, distant lately. It's like back when Mom died all over again."

Wilbur stops cutting, and when Fundy glances up to look at him in the mirror, he can see him staring at his feet, his expression hard and eyes clouded in a way that Fundy has never seen before and it... scares him.

"Dad?"

Wilbur snaps out of it, and gives Fundy a tight smile. "I'm sorry, Fund. I suppose I've just been deep in thought lately, coming up with a... I suppose you'd call it a contingency plan."

Fundy doesn't like the sound of those words. He doesn't like it at all. And as Wilbur begins humming again, slightly off tune, Fundy only feels his worry grow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I give Dream plot armor? Maybe a little bit. Do I care? Definitely not. Also, Dadbur makes me emotional :(


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mostly Wil's story this time, since I didn't leave you with much of that last time. Enjoy! I'm also working on another DSMP fic, though it'll be a bit before I post that.

Dream's been starting to keep a closer eye on the map as the last couple of days had gone by. He'd only stopped once more after the tavern, and it had nearly ended in his death once the villagers found out who he was and that he was wanted by the crown. Apparently, not all villages shared the same opinion on King Soot. So he had mostly been making quick camps and sleeping for a few hours each night, mostly to let his horse rest. But he steadily continued north, sparing a glance over his shoulder even as the weather got colder and the trees began to change to evergreens.

He couldn't help but feel nervous; he knew that safety was getting closer by the minute, but he hadn't seen his pursuers in quite some time and it was making him incredibly nervous. He knew they must have fallen at least a little behind after the incident where he'd lost his original horse, but gained a new one.

So it didn't come as a surprise when, as it began to snow and Dream could see he was only a short distance from safety, that he heard the whoops and shouts of the hunters once again. He spurred his horse on quickly, hoping that this time he wouldn't be caught. It wasn't long before the arrows began to fly and he could hear the exact words from the hunters, yelling for him to surrender and occasionally arguing amongst themselves. He pushed his horse through the snow, and just as he was certain they were about to catch up to him, the treeline breaks and he sees a large, cozy looking log cabin. He has to resist the urge to whoop with joy as he throws himself off the horse and sprints for the door. He can hear the knights yelling in alarm behind him, and just as he's about to reach the door, an arrow embeds itself in his shoulder and he stumbles and falls into the snowbank with a shout of pain.

"I know that had to hurt, Dream!" Sapnap shouts behind him, and Dream flips onto his back, desperately trying to scramble away, to reach the salvation he was promised as Sapnap swings off his horse with his bow in hand. Dream rips out his sword with one hand, the other clenched down onto the wound in his shoulder, trying to keep the shaft of the arrow still.

Dream watches, in what feels like slow motion, as Sapnap nocks an arrow and pulls back the string. Then... he hears wingbeats. And just as Sapnap looses the arrow, an intimidating figure lands in front of Dream, dark wings spread and cloak blowing in the growing snowstorm, and _catches the arrow_.

His voice is soft, but the wind carries it and there's a quality to it that makes it seem so much louder as the man says, "enough."

* * *

Technoblade frowns as he listens to Fundy recount last night, gesturing wildly as he talks, pacing in front of the hybrid. After Fundy finishes, the fox hybrid is out of breath as he looks to his uncle for support. Techno sighs and crosses his arms, silent for a moment as he thinks.

The idea of Wilbur having a "contingency plan" as he called it, was not good. Especially given the item that he'd been keeping in his vault until recently, one that Technoblade himself had been planning on removing and ferreting away to their father for some time now. Of course, the thief had gotten to it before him and Techno could only hope he would get far enough away with it. His gaze wandered past the prince and landed on Eret, standing and chatting absently with one of the knights; Karl, if his memory served right. Eret, picking up on Techno's gaze, turned and shot him a grin. Techno gave him what he hoped was more of a smile than a grimace back, and then turned his attention to Fundy again.

"You're not the only one worried about him, Fundy." Techno murmurs, deep voice reverberating through his chest. "But this is... particularly frightening. It almost sounds like he thinks there'll be..."

"Another Revolution?" Eret says as he approaches, and Techno sighs.

"Another revolution." Techno agrees.

Fundy glances between the two, eyes wide. "But- but we're the good guys, right? Surely the people won't rebel against us."

Eret shakes his head, a distant expression in his eyes. "We certainly _were_ the good guys. But if you look at it, we're beginning what we swore to destroy. Look at us; Lords and Dukes and Princes and Kings! The exact thing we overthrew!"

Fundy bites his lip and shakes his head. "We aren't the same..." He steels his shoulders and glares up at Eret, who only looks down at him with pity. "We can't be the same!"

Fundy storms off and Eret watches him go, before adjusting his coat and turning to Technoblade. "Maybe not all of us..."

Techno frowns at him, reaching up and brushing away a lock of his own pink hair. "What are you implying?"

"Well, look at what Wilbur is becoming. It's incredibly worrying; this contingency plan, the extra security, the way he turns away the common folk- I wouldn't be surprised if the already present talk of descent is growing!" Eret turns and gestures out to the city beyond them. "The capital may be doing well, to the point of extravagance even, but what about the distant villages? And then there are our neighbors... The Badlands, and the beginnings of some other country, not yet named... I would be shocked if war _wasn't_ at our doorstep, Techno!"

Technoblade huffs. "Be shocked then."

Eret merely shrugs and smiles. "Say what you will... Something is coming, and Wilbur knows it too." And with that, Eret leaves, Techno staring at his retreating back, a growing sense of suspicion lodging itself soundly in his mind.

He listens to the sound of Tommy and Tubbo sparring and trash-talking each other in the distance, before deciding to join them in an attempt to take his mind off of politics.

God, he hates politics.

He spars with the boys till the sun begins to set and they all head inside to get dinner. Techno takes his usual seat on the left side of Wilbur, who's only half listening to what Eret is telling him, and spares a glance for Fundy sitting on the right of the king, absently prodding at his steak. After trying to listen to the conversation for a moment, he quickly turns to rib at his little brother instead, teasing Tommy over his sloppy sparring early in the afternoon while the younger boy argues that he was doing "just fine, thank you!". But between the teasing and political strife, his eyes are caught by an empty chair at the high table, and his heart pangs as he wonders what his father is doing so many miles away and if he'll ever be able to see him again.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did someone say Dadza content-
> 
> Also a little dialogue-heavy, sorry!

The man stands above Dream, arrow still hand and dark expression on his face. Dream watches as the knights balk, unsure whether to continue the fight. The winged man lowers the hand with the arrow and glares out across the snow at the knights.

"Wilbur sent you?" his eyes dart to the crests on the knight's cloak, and all four of them nod or make affirming noises. "Too bad for him. You're in my territory now, and he has no claim here. He knows that."

The knights hesitate for a minute before Sapnap shoves Bad forward. Bad blanches and says, "Uhm, he's uh, wanted for..." he mutters the last word so quiet it's inaudible.

The winged figure seems to take some pity on him and finishes the sentence. "Judging by the way he's clutching his bag like a lifeline, I'm going to say thievery."

Bad nods frantically. "And we have to bring him back or... Uhm..."

"Or we'll be banished forever." Antfrost finishes, looking up at the man with a great deal more courage than Bad managed.

The man blinks, clearly surprised. "He banished you? For whatever this man stole?" Antfrost nods, not dropping his gaze, though he does seem surprised at the pity and disappointment that floods the man's eyes. "I was afraid it had come to this. I was afraid he was becoming-" he cuts himself off and turns to Dream, who scooches a few inches away, trying not to shiver. "What did you steal?"

Dream merely holds out the bag, and the man takes it, pulling each item out and nodding, something akin to a smile on his face as he observes each item until he gets to the skull. His expression melts to one of horror instead, and when Dream looks at the knights, he can see a similar expression on Bad's face.

"Is that..." the knight whispers, and the man merely nods, looking grim.

"I think you lot should come inside," he says, holding out a hand to help Dream to his feet.

The man leads them into his cabin, making sure to shield Dream with a wing, just in case. They all step gratefully into the warmth provided before taking seats in the living room. The man is still holding the skull, which he sets very carefully on a nearby shelf before joining them, checking the fire before taking a seat of his own. He looks around at them and sighs.

"Well, perhaps we should try and break the ice a little bit," he comments, clearly not missing the tension a little bit. "I find introductions work well for this. My name is Philza; though most just call me Phil."

Sapnap's eyes widen, and he leans in. "You're the ex-king; Wilbur's father."

Everyone turns to look at Phil in surprise, but the man merely laughs, waving a hand. "Oh, it's been a long time since anyone has addressed me as king of anything. I think I'll stick to being recognized as just Wilbur's dad." Phil turns to Dream, saying "now our little trouble maker."

Dream gives him a shy smile before saying, "I'm, uh, Dream. My mother, Niki, told me I'd be safe with you."

Phil's eyes light up at the name. "It's been so long since I've seen her! Is she doing well?"

"Very," Dream confirms, tension leaving at the clear familiarity at the name.

Phil grins and then turns to the knights. "How about the shy one?"

Bad glances around before pointing at himself and Phil laughs again and gestures for him to speak. "I'm, uh, Bad."

They go around like that for a while, and Dream is glad to finally have all their names straight in his head for once, outside of just Sapnap, who he finds his eyes drifting to more often than not. Sapnap catches him once and shoots him a sly grin, which causes Dream to flush and look away. Sapnap merely smirks before returning to the conversation at hand. After a while of idle chatter, Phil gets up to get more firewood, leaving all four of them alone in awkward silence.

Not at all to Dream's surprise, Sapnap breaks the silence. "So, uh, why did you steal from the treasury? Was it spite? Or greed, or what?"

Dream blinks, caught off guard by Sapnap's question as the other knights look at him, curious. "I guess it was just to see if I could? The money is nice, I guess, but it was more about the challenge."

George stares at him in silence for a long moment before saying, "wait, you did it for the _challenge?_ "

"Mhm."

The knights gape at him before Antfrost laughs, tossing his head back. "I c-can not believe you stole from Soot because you could!"

Bad glares at the cat hybrid before turning back to Dream, a disapproving look on his face. "You shouldn't do that! Stealing from people is rude!"

Dream huffs, and reaches into the satchel, pulling out one of the pearls and running his thumb across the surface, clearly showing off. "So's chasing them through the wilderness and shooting them with an arrow," Dream's hand falls to the wound, patched up by Phil during the earlier conversation.

Bad looks at him for a minute and Dream thinks he might actually be in for it when Bad's shoulders slump and he sighs. "Suppose it's no worse than an adoptive son who sets fire to his mattress."

Sapnap turns red and glares at him. "That was one time!"

Dream looks between them, a slight smile on his face. "Of course you two are family. You sound like me and my mom, Puffy..." at the memory of his mother, Dream feels some of the warmth that had managed to creep back into his bones leave him. The knights notice of course, and Sapnap crosses the room and sets a hand on his shoulder.

"Y'know, I get it. I miss my other father figure a lot, too. I mean, Bad's great, but he's not all I have and I remember that every day." Sapnap says, and Bad laughs and sniffles a little bit.

"I miss Skeppy too," he agrees and then launches into a story about Skeppy and Sapnap getting into trouble when Sapnap was little.

By the time Phil gets back, they're laughing and joking like old friends, completely missing the fond and almost sad expression on the older man's face.

* * *

Tommy doesn't worry.

Okay, so he worries, but mostly about Tubbo's latest dumb decision or whether Technoblade should be slandering the government when Wilbur is _right there_ , but he doesn't worry about Wilbur himself often. He doesn't really need to; Wilbur is the controlled one, the calm one, the one who keeps things from falling apart. Wilbur is the responsible brother, the one with a kid, the one everyone thought would be fit to take over after Phil abdicated, including Phil himself. Nobody suspected that Wilbur would be the one to fall apart under stress, to deteriorate.

But deteriorating he was. And it was no mystery as to why. All Tommy had to do was walk down one of the less well-kept streets of the city to hear the whispers, to see people hurriedly shut their blinds as the prince walked by. All he had to do was shut his mouth long enough to actually listen, and it quickly became clear what was happening behind the scenes. Whispers of another revolution, an overthrowing of the monarchy once and for all. And Tommy knew he had to tell Wilbur, but he didn't, afraid of what would happen. Instead, he sat and watched in distress as these whispers grew louder, fed by invisible hands and pounding in his ears when he hurried home at night.

He would relay these things to Tubbo, who would listen but rarely offer a solution. It was clear that he was thinking the same thing as Tommy; that telling Wilbur would only make things worse.

So instead, Wilbur's brothers watched as the country grew restless, and complaints began pouring in. Complaints that were swiftly ignored by Wilbur Soot.

So it was no surprise, really, when things were beginning to come to a head...


End file.
